As I’ve got older I look at world/local issues and trends and form an opinion more often. Now I”m the last to believe others may be interested in what I think – but this is my blog, others don’t have to read it (few will)…..SO WHAT THE HELL.
So that’s my training and work experience.
But here's the thing - no amount of education beats LIFE TIME EXPERIENCE. And at 74 I reckon I've had plenty of that.
My overall philosophy - I believe in the good nature of society. True, there's a whole lot of crap and badness out there, but the fact that in most places we have a system of rules and laws to counteract the badness proves my point. I don't know what you call people like me who believe good will win in the end - but whatever that is, I'm in.
Thing is I reckon I am broad-minded enough and have enough theoretical background and practical life-time experience to have an opinion on what is happening. Or at least to have INFORMED RANT. And there are lots of international and local issues I wouldn’t mind ranting about.
.....like....
Maybe the best idea is to accept reality - big changes in the fortunes of nations occur every now and then – perhaps the best message to the losers is SUCK IT UP.
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JAN 10 2019 BREXIT.
Here's the thing - economic unions like the EEC are a good idea (at least for participants) but require members to conform to rules and guidelines - but the Brits want their cake and eat it too: they want the economic gains from union but don't want to conform.
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JAN 25 THE EURO
A common market may be a good idea (at least for most participants - but the BREXITERS don't seem to think so) but a common currency is completely dumb, because in the long run currency union without political union just doesn't work. Sure the advantages are fine as long as members conform to rules including budgetary constraint - but when does a desperate politician seeking re-election stick to budgetary constraint?
And it seems some member countries are prepared to give themselves northern-European levels of wealth, social services etc without the hard work/high taxation needed. This can be done short term by BORROWING - but eventually national debt blows out to unsustainable levels the lenders say no more. Should that Greek guy in the above cartoon look so smug?.... Maybe yes because his country has been rescued from its folly.
So far the richer member countries and the IMF have stepped in and bailed the defaulter out. I predict we will in the future have more periodic crises, particularly when you look at the economic basket cases seeking entry or recently entering the EUROPEAN UNION.
The long run? Will Germany and other wealthy member countries' taxpayers get sick of bailing out the freeloaders? Will the EURO eventually come crashing down with members reverting to their home currencies? Don't hold your breath - I think this whole currency crisis is a long term train crash.
What riles me is that in each crisis we have concerned finance ministers,bank officials and entourages of hangers-on rushing to some big time crisis management meeting - they arrive in top end Mercs and Maybachs, stay in $1000 a night hotel suites and are being paid hundreds of thousands of Euros per year. They take themselves completely seriously and are shown great deference, yet the currency system they are shoring up is a FRAUD as any first year economics student will attest. At least these guys are consistent - they set themselves an amazingly low hurdle which they constantly fail to reach.
FROM THIS BLOG'S "THE WORRY COLLECTIVE"
(cropped image from WILCOX - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD)
The Worry Collective #23
BUDDY CAN YOU SPARE A YACHT?
Q - Any chance we can use your finance guru FastCash Keyne's super-yacht for a meeting of European Financial Stability Fund members in Monaco next week?
Merko and Holla - Brussels.
TWC - FastCash says this is not the time for expensive super yacht junkets. He suggests you restrict your attendance to people who know what they are talking about - that way Princess Caroline's single-kayak should suffice. With room to spare.
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These dudes and their hangers-on along with other government apparatchiks plus executives and their toadies from the world's top companies are presently junketing at the 2019 DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM. I read that they flew in on 1500 fuel-gulping/emissions spewing private jets to hear DAVID ATTENBOROUGH speak about how we are wrecking the environment. What can I say? All the gear (private jets/laptop-wielding flunkies/luxury hotel rooms/chauffeur-driven limos yada) and no idea.
And to what end? Well. at the end of the conference they will all agree to return in a year's time for another talkfest and junket.
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FEB 07 2019 TRUMPSTER AND BREXXIT UPDATE.
TRUMP WATCH.
Well DONALDO ain't traveling too well right now. He has recently CAVED on the WALL/GOVT SHUTDOWN (although he seems keen of a face-saving round 2) and is up to his neck in investigations re RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN THE ELECTION, his BUSINESS DEALINGS, TAX, FINANCIAL SCANDALS etc. Gotta say if I had voted for him, I'd be feeling a tad let down right now.
BREXIT - I feel a bit sorry for poor Theresa: she was anti-Brexit personally but has been given the task of negotiating the exit following the referendum - yet can't get support for the scheme she has negotiated.
Meanwhile exit day gets closer - will my prediction up page eventuate? This is getting very interesting. And entertaining.
TRUMP AND TRADE
Any economist will tell you free trade is a winner OVERALL (but yep, there are losers) and how protection is a dumb idea. Yet OL' ORANGE tells us : "TRADE WARS ARE EASY TO WIN AND PROTECTION IS GREAT!"
That sounds crazy but I think there is method in his madness - "crazy' is what TRUMP wants the world to think. His opponents are dealing with a crazy man who could start a damaging trade war, so they will be more in the mood for CONCESSIONS when trade negotiations start. The Chinese and Europeans who are worse than most when it comes to unfair trade rules (and dodgy stuff like the Chinese stealing of US IT) etc will have to give. Not that the US has no unfair trade rules - it does, but fewer than many countries or trading groups of countries.
TRUMP AND FOREIGN RELATIONS
That "crazy man" thing also applies here. Foreign bullies like those Russian and Nth Korean dudes maybe think this ratbag is just nuts enough to bow to his military advisers who would love to nuke the bad guys - so they will give a bit or maybe a lot in negotiations.
In other foreign policy areas? - well many in the know are dismayed at his MIDDLE EAST POLICY, perhaps for good reason. But I have given up on that area - I think things are too far gone for any policy to resolve regional problems - the place was doomed by the way the great powers drew the borders after WWs1/2: and modern Israel has inflamed the situation (although I think the Israelis deserve their homeland). So I don't have an opinion on the Middle East situation.
ELSEWHERE? - well his immigration policy re THE WALL is not going too well. My opinion - THE WALL is a joke: AS IF it would work. Not sure what will finally eventuate. No doubt some compromise.
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FEB-08 2019 THE AUSSIE SITUATION - FINE FOR NOW BUT STORM CLOUDS AHEAD
Readers (if I have any) are probably wondering why this Aussie is so fixated on the scene in the US and EUROPE. Well for a page which has so far been concentrating on current affairs from an economic viewpoint, the US and Europe are the main games right now.
But for me and Aussie readers (if I have few international readers there would be fewer Aussies) the home situation is just as important, As stated above the current situation is
"FINE FOR NOW BUT STORM CLOUDS AHEAD". This is a matter of head-scratching for me: at both national and state levels we have bumbling centre-right governments who don't have a clue .... so maybe I should enlarge on my heading -" FINE FOR NOW (BUT COULD BE WAY BETTER).........."
Thing is Australia hasn't had a recession for 23 years, economic growth is fair and unemployment the lowest for a long time (but not as low as the land of the sugar hit, and Oz's figure hides a lot of hidden unemployment - people working who would like more hours). But in the future maybe things will not be so rosy - house prices are falling after a crazy period of increases, and things in China (our biggest export customer by far and the main reason Australia has been so prosperous for so long) don't look too good - their economy appears overcooked and this trade war thing could exacerbate the situation. Hell, if my prediction that TRUMP will end up with a lot more pro-US agreements in trade negotiations comes to fruition, that could still hurt Australia's exports because many things we supply China the US also can ALSO supply. OK, the cost will be higher (particularly freight) but this is a cost China may be prepared to bear for trade peace.
So the all important ANIMAL SPIRITS are down a bit in Oz right now - consumer sentiment is falling as are business expectations. Consumer spending and business investment are already beginning to falter. Not enough to signal negative economic growth, but sufficient to see a slowing in the rate of growth. Trouble with those animal spirits is that a slight decline can quickly turn into a stampede for the basement.
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FEB 09 2019 "THE POLITICS OF MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION"
I just came across the above reference to the populism policies of the PRO- TRUMPSTERS and BREXITERS. Good one. Wish I had coined that.
SMARTARSE 101
It's fun sitting back and poking fun at the US and BRIT situation, but maybe hypercritical if I don't have a better idea.
THE US - as I've said up-page I don't have an answer for all the losers from the previous period of free-trade/ deregulation/ trickle down theory era over the past 15-20 years - the people who decided to throw the switch to POPULISM and support some blowhard reckoned he could fix things. And as I said, Hillary would have been more of the past - things may have improved slightly but the structural problem would still be there. All those people who have gained nothing or gone backwards would still be AS MAD AS HELL And as the Democrats learned - the MAD AS HELL have the vote.
Thinking more. perhaps I should't dismiss something like DEMOCTRATIC SOCIALISM. It may be the way to go long term after the experiment with populism ends. Unthinkable at present as the relatively recent BERNIE SANDERS experiment showed, but in the future maybe our loser group will realize POPULISM isn't the answer and will be more prepared to give it or something like it a go.
BREXIT - I believe most of the world thinks this is a case of SUCK IT UP. If the majority of Brit voters want the wide-spread advantages of the common market but are not prepared to accept the rules - then tough.
Wait. Just an idea - maybe Theresa and her negotiators could try on Donaldo's "CRAZY MAN" tactic. Threaten withdrawal UNLESS the EEC authorities agree to fewer of those nit-picking, bureaucratic regulations that so get up the noses of Mr and Mrs typical Brit - the emphasis must be on "nit-picking"; stronger rules and regulations re fiscal and governance issues must remain.
Problem is I don't think the Brits are negotiating from a strong position - the EEC needs BRITAIN less than BRITAIN needs to EEC (the opposite of the US/CHINA situation) and so the Europeans are pretty hard-nosed in negotiations. They probably think if they give concessions to Britain, they will have to give even more to the basket case Eastern European nations recently joining or to join. And let's not forget some older members, particularly in Southern Europe, are not exactly healthy.
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16th Feb 2019.
STATE OF EMERGENCY???
This is getting good.
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TRENDING - 17th Feb 2019
- (Aust and internationally) - FASHION .... EXPOSED UNDERWEAR.
Women's fashion is in a good place - all those lovely sexy tops with scooped/exposed back, spaghetti straps/halters, big armpits yada. But here in Oz the local sheilas blow the whole deal by wearing extremely daggy industrial grade bras beneath - the sort of stuff should never see the light of day. So what we see is industrial beige/white/black back and shoulder straps broad enough to hawser QE2 + super-size-me cups in the arm-cut outs. Surely if they are gonna spend $90 on a lovely top, they should be prepared to spend a bit extra on a matching support garment, not fall back on good ol' faithful in the wardrobe.
And on a personal note - any frilly black bras don't cut it with me. But then again, I've never been a fan of frilly black underwear. What I want to see modern women wearing is COLOUR-CO-ORDINATED underwear with only thin straps exposed - and not too fancy if the arm holes are way big.
OK - I realise BIG LADIES need more support than thin straps will give: in such cases they are gonna have to suck it up and wear less revealing tops.
I think women had it covered back in the 70s and 80s - this was the NO BRA era. But things change. For a start tops were not as revealing. And further, the average lady was maybe 10kg/22lbs lighter back then (females today are in the grip of those serial seducers KRISPY KREME and RONALDO MACCA) and didn't need the support today's beefier babes require.
At least the oversize T is covering the CALVINS.
And it's not just the guys in this exposed briefs thing....
The big question - are all those trendsetter wearing the above trying to identify with our drop-crotch buddies? I mean, ripped jeans were originally worn by urban losers.
SMARTARSE 101 PART 2
It's fun to highlight absurdities in popular fashion, but maybe not if yer humble correspondent is not exactly a sartorial trendsetter. GUILTY YER HONOR! - my garb 90% of the time is board shorts with a T, purchased for $3 each at the BALI ART MARKET (not too much art sold there but heaps of clothing). Not exactly what you would expect a 74 yo to be wearing (and yes, I have been paid out on this twice recently - to no avail: I grin and larf).
Thing is, I wear this stuff because I am a TIGHTWAD - can't get much less expensive than $3 -and for COMFORT**. Not trying to make a statement, not trying to regain my lost youth, not trying to identify with some tribe - not trying nothing except save a few bucks in a comfortable way.
** in winter our part of Australia gets a tad cool for boardies and a T. So I substitute a pair of tracky-dacks with a flannelette shirt over the T. Both available in KMART for sub $10 on special - which is the only time I buy. Okay, when I want to look flash, I replace the trackies with a pair of Asian-made jeans - approx the same price/same source/same time.
ALSO TRENDING
BIG BOOTIES
MY TAKE - UGLY!! (yeah, I know I'm behind the times and we are moving to a new era of RUBINESQUE female bodies - but I'll stay a fan of fit and sleek).
Which brings us to another current craze which can be real nice on the right chassis - G-STRING BEACH BIKINIS.....
TAN LINE HILARITY - when I see young ladies such as 2 and 3 images above, I can't help thinking of the hilarious tan marks on their upper derriere/lower back. Who sees that? Um, well their boyfriends/husbands/fenale lovers maybe - now they are supposed to be appreciative, not rolling on the floor with laughter.
And maybe exhibitionists.
Anyway from this male's point of view, they are NOT ATTRACTIVE.
And good for her - people like these are much more talented and work way harder than those supermodel types - usually for little reward.
See, even though a lot of popular culture makes me smile, I think WHATEVER FLOATS YER BOAT is in general the way to go. If some dude wants to align himself/herself with HIPSTERS/INKERS/ COFFEE AFICIAONADOS/BAD BOYS/A FOOTBALL CLUB TRIBE and SUNDRY OTHER HARD CASES.....WTF? Who am I to judge? So I sit back, giggle at what I personally think is a bit crazy, frown at what I think stupid and unattractive, but don't condemn anything.
This is the advantage of BEING A GEEZER - no one cares what you think, and you think from the benefit of many years of observation.
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TRENDING NOW 19th FEB 1019
BACKPACKER DROWNINGS IN AUSTRALIA
Saw a tragic item on the TV news tonight how 2 Brit/French backpackers went for a midnight swim at PORT MACQUARIE on the mid north coast of NSW and got into trouble in the surf, subsequently disappearing.
Don't think it can't happen to you. Hell, it has happened to me many times (you can get into trouble so quickly even in what seems tame conditions: plus board riders and body surfers use rips as express routes to the "take-off zone "out the back) - but I know what to do.
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FEB 20 2019
ECONOMICS 101
WHAT MAKES NATIONS RICH.
I grew up in a poor family at PORT KEMBLA, a steelworks town south of SYDNEY. My reading was out of the public library and my favourite tome (we are talking late 50's here) was the good ol' SATURDAY EVENING POST from the USA. I used to check out those great car ads plus all the stuff available for households. Which generated the thought: HOW DO THESE PEOPLE AFFORD THIS STUFF - HOW COME AMERICA IS SO WEALTHY?
So when I later got the chance to study ECONOMICS I grabbed the chance - specifically for the answer to this issue.
This is what I came up with -
NATIONS CAN BE WEALTHY IF THEY HAVE:
- an abundance of natural resources
- an educated, skilled workforce (including management) with a thriving work ethic.
- a stable framework of governance and law
- no shortage of investment funds and incentive.
Can nations do the job without one of these? Well Singapore has done alright without lotsa natural resources, simply because of its freakish positioning ideal for entrepot trade. And certain fairly ordinary European countries managed to steal their colonies' resources when lacking their own - we could argue some are still fighting a rearguard having lost their colonies. Some people will mention Switzerland which managed to convince the world they were somehow better at minding people's/corporations' money than most (although I think the place has a lot more going for it - plus they were smart enough to stay out of last century's 2 major wars).
BACK TO THE USA
This staying out of both world wars thing was PART instrumental - they came in relatively late being owed heaps by early participants - and their GEOGRAPHICAL ISOLATION meant they did not suffer the catastrophic infrastructure damage of Europe.
A FURTHER USA ADVANTAGE
One thing missing from all the above points I've come to realize fairly recently - THE USA HAS ALWAYS HAD A BIG GROUP OF WORKING POOR WHO MADE THE COST OF PRODUCTION IN LABOUR-INTENSIVE AREAS VERY COMPETITIVE.
Probably started with slavery. Then the influx of Europe's working poor. More recently largely Asian and Latino. Plus we must mention the help of INTERNAL MIGRATION - the movement of millions of low cost mainly black workers out of the south to jobs in the north-east industrial zones post civil war and the 1930's wave of desperate "OKIES" from the drought-ravaged mid-west to the fields of California's Central Valley.
ELSEWHERE - this is an advantage other advanced economies lack: Europe, Australia, Canada etc have STRONG MINIMUM WAGE laws which make a mockery of the USA's farcically minimalist, piecemeal regulations and enforcement.
But in somewhat of an irony, today;s developing Asian and Latin American competitors have EVEN LOWER WAGES than USA's working poor - and with modern technology transfer/piracy and the international flow of investment being what they are, these are the places killing American competitiveness.
REPUBLICAN TURMOIL
The scene must be annoying an important section of Republican Supporters - the BUSINESS LOBBY. This sector depends on a big supply of low cost labour - but here is leader TRUMP trying to lower immigration both legal and illegal which is the major current source of working poor.
As Jack Reacher would say: "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR".
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FEB 21 2019
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Yesterday's Jack Reacher "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR" quote reminded me of many current demands which tend to have unintended consequences that will worsen other areas of concern. Often the public's wants are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
The classic is the never ending demand for more government spending on transport, hospitals, schools, social services vs. the constant call for lower taxes and reduced government borrowing. Recently we had in Australia the rising angst of increasing house prices pushing them out of the reach of younger Australians to be replaced by fears of falling wealth as soon as the prices turned south. Those new freeways are terrible, but we want a lower road toll and ever decreasing transport costs of goods and services. The cities are too big spatially, we have the blight of urban sprawl - but the same people seem to be constantly bellyaching about the increase of high rise residential in existing areas. And yes, here in Australia migration is out of control, adding to the problems in housing, hospital, schools and a bunch of other things - but we welcome the boost to economic growth migration brings. Not to mention the fuzzy warm feeling of supporting all those refugees escaping draconian regimes. Another is the creeping nanny state ("THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW AGAINST THAT!"/"THE GOVT HAS TO STEP IN AND TAKE ACTION!!") vs the erosion of personal freedom and the abrogation of common sense.
The latest thing is a worry about excessively small growth in average wages creating economic stagnation yet a short time ago Australia's rapid average wage growth was making us un-competitive.
MY TAKE - some of the above worries are warranted but proponents must be aware there is a cost involved and not bellyache when the negatives kick-in. And if a whinger is moaning about 2 issues that are mutually exclusive, they should grow a brain and shut the fuck up.
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INTERNET SOFT PORN
YOUNG LADIES - DON'T DO IT!!
Been doing some research (hur hur hur) on internet share-foto girlie sites. Not a bad area for the desperates and dateless of this world.
I have come to the conclusion that much of the stuff shown is REVENGE PORN - some poor sweetie is so in lurv that she gets talked into posing for, or emailing to him, some hot shots. There is a delay until the relationship ends, often with acrimony, and then the pix get sent to friends and internet sites. In other cases the misogynistic boyfriend sends them to his mates immediately, where they get shared around and quickly make it to the girlie sites.
What can I say about the above shot? Young ladies, do you want 74yo sleazes like me (or worse) checking yer bits out? Do you want family, friends, workmates, prospective partners/employers finding this? No matter how much you lurv him, DON'T DO THIS!!
Of course there are many other scenarios whereby these shots get taken and sent - but no matter how much alky, how daring and bad girl you are feeling, D0 NOT DO THIS!!
And I won't even start on INTERNET SEX TAPES.
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BULLSHIT IO1
ALL GOVERNMENT DEBT IS BAD
Seems the flavour of the new millennium - any government debt is bad!! "I mean you wouldn't run yer household like that - racking up debt". EXCEPT - this is exactly what households do. Show me the young household hasn't got a MORTGAGE - owes the bank a motza.
Here's the thing - UNSUSTAINABLE GOVT DEBT is definitely bad. What is unsustainable govt, debt? - a level of debt which is gonna be difficult to pay off in the future. The sort of debt that 2nd/3rd rate Euro economies plus many 3rd world countries have racked up. In the past this was considered a certain % of debt to GDP (the nation's output of good and services) but these days that has been relaxed: as long as a nation can meet interest payments on debt - NO WORRIES. Trouble is there's a bunch of nations currently finding this difficult.
Fortunately Australia's debt to GDP ratio is one of the lowest of advanced economies. The USA is not looking too hot however.
DON'T CONFUSE GOVT DEBT WITH EXTERNAL DEBT OR FOREIGN DEBT.
For a start, govt debt is owed both within the country and to external lenders.
External debt or foreign debt is ALL DEBT, owed by both government and private entities (mainly corporations) to overseas lenders. A further distinction is NET FOREIGN DEBT which subtracts what is owed to the home country.
BEWARE - people with an agenda like to scare the hell out of unwitting punters by quoting the trillions of dollars of GROSS Foreign Debt whereas NET Foreign Debt is the significant statistic and for many countries is much lower.
Here's the gospel:
1- AS LONG AS GOVT AND PRIVATELY RAISED FOREIGN DEBT IS USED TO BUILD PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY ALL IS GOOD. Trouble is too many indebted countries are using borrowed money to build " TROPHY STUFF" like sports stadiums, presidential palaces yada or on UNPRODUCTIVE THINGS like financing pensions, govt-workers' wage increases and similar.
2 If the borrowed money is used to finance thing that can be used by future generations it is only fair that future generations also help pay for them. The emotive nonsense you hear: "THEY ARE RACKING UP DEBT OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL HAVE TO PAY" is complete rubbish. Those children/grandchildren will get the benefit of the spending (as long as it is for productive stuff as above) so why shouldn't they pay some? For most of my life I was helping to repay the loan on the Sydney Harbour Bridge - built long before I was born. But I used the bridge every now and then, so why not?
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MARCH 01/2019 - TRUMP AND BREXIT UPDATE - KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD.
Seems both the Great Negotiator and poor ol' Theresa have been doing the typical politician's thing - not making a decision right now but kicking it down the road to some time in the future.
MASTER NEGOTIATOR....NOT!!! - the TANTRUM IN CHIEF promised us a new paradigm as far as international negotiations were concerned, But concerning his dealings with KOREAN PEACE TALKS + CHINESE TRADE NEGOTIATION it has been the same old stuff - can't come to an agreement right now so what we are gonna do is talk about it in the future.
Now this is the guy who promised to CLEAR THE SWAMP - but the favoured negotiating tactic of swamp denizens pre-Trump was to kick negotiations down the road....Nothing's changed.
OK - I know NEGOTIATIONS 101 has "STEP A - walk out the door." Even unsophisticated dudes like me has always walked in auto and other big purchases the last 30 years. But we are expecting more from a MASTER NEGOTIATOR.
BREXIT - it seems at this time Ms. T is hoping if she kicks the can further down the road as far as exit is concerned, something's going to give - maybe those European dicks will cave (unlikely), maybe someone in her own party or the opposition (nearly as unlikely).
The world waits with a sense of SCHADENFREUDE. This is getting good.
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THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH - March 03 2010
Even the proverbial pet shop parrot is raving about the need for better health facilities/schools/public transport/social sevices yada.
BIG PROBLEM - the parrot and the general public thinks all these things should be FREE!!!
They don't wanna pay for them.
HERE'S MY TAKE - if I was a politician I could point out that I could provide ALL these things BUT will need an increase in taxation** to pay for them.
(** um, definitely lots could be paid for by GOVT BORROWING - but I have already mentioned how this is considered in the current politico/economic era as NOT ON.
And as I said, this is STUPID reasoning.)
If I was a politician making that sort of promise, I wouldn't be a politician for long. Everyone wants this stuff for free - OR, they want someone else to pay for it....
MIDDLE INCOME WELFARE
So who are these SOMEONE ELSES mentioned above?
- THE GOVT: everyone know that the govt wastes money. So all we have to do is cut this waste and it will pay for EVERYTHING.
SORRY - despite being my late mum's answer to all the wrongs in the world. this will not go near financing the needed expenditure. See my bit down page on cutting govt waste.
- THE (AUSTRALIAN) MIDDLE CLASSES - in the past, AUST governments, in order to get re-elected, have wasted billions of dollars on MIDDLE CLASS WELFARE. The current LABOR OPPOSITION PARTY is proposing to reverse some of this in order to finance the things we need - you should see/hear the opposition to these moves. NEVER GET BETWEEN A MIDDLE CLASS RETIREE AND HIS/HER ENTITLEMENTS.
Indeed.
CUTTING RETIREES' unworthy ENTITLEMENTS is part of TEZZA'S ANSWER!!
- the other part of my answer is PAY MORE TAXES.
Now as a small income earner I think I don't pay enough taxes, so I reckon all those higher than me can afford to pay a bit more - particularly top income earners with their tax minimising TRUST FUNDS and their HIGH PAID TAX LAWYERS. Maybe they should pay a LOT more considering some pay zero tax or near.....Um, make that zero or near INCOME TAX on account these dudes are big spenders and play plenty in SALES/GST/VALUE ADDED - or whatever their nation's version is.
BUT HERE'S THE THING - I pay plenty of GST - and a lot higher proportion of my income than rich guys. And as said above, even though a small income earner, I reckon I should pay some income tax too. So those high income earners should definitely by paying more.
Of course personal taxes are just part of tax revenue - and there is plenty of evasion and cheating going on in the area of BUSINESS TAX. Businesses must pay more tax too.
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MARCH 13 2019 - THE DUMBING DOWN OF EDUCATION
I've mentioned up page that when I got my degree I was one of the so-called "top**" 0.5% of school beginners to eventually graduate university - how university was hard to get into and even harder to graduate from.
How things change - today, EVERYONE can do university++, and in reality anyone in the top 60% can graduate. Which must mean things have been dumbed down (as a school and TAFE teacher for 35 years I can tell you that the top 60% of school beginners includes a lot of very ordinary intellects. Hell this is a RANT, so I can say that 60% includes quite a lot of DUMB-ARSES).
HOW FAR DUMBED-DOWN? Well I think in Australia it depends on the course - medical and legal areas are still very rigorous but human arts courses way easier - ditto unfortunately teaching, and all those applied sciences like engineering, architecture yada. Some would say the high proportion of foreign students (some of whom have hopeless English language and writing skills) signing up for the latter help dumb-down the scene. But on their own, the lower cohort of Australian born students are doing pretty it pretty easy when it comes to enrolling/graduating the university course of their choice..
**"top half-percent sounds pretty elitist but let me assure you I am no great intellect. From an illegal look at my school record when the careers adviser left the room, I know my IQ is no great shakes at 15 points above average, far below my class-mates who also had a look. But I had the ability to be cram great amounts of info just before an exam, remember it for just long enough and to reproduce it in very good essays - multiple-choice exams were not a big deal back in the day.
++the problem with today is that tutoring fees tend to be fairly high and must be repaid over time - a HECS debt. (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) and there are way fewer alternatives like SCHOLARSHIPS. The short period of FREE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION under the WHITLAM GOVERNMENT is long gone - in fact it was a bit late for me, but I was lucky getting a high enough Higher School Certificate result to be awarded a COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIP and a TEACHERS' SCHOLARSHIP, both to university.
The former was insufficient for students from poor families so I took the TEACHERS'. Only problem - I had to sign on to be a teacher for a minimum of 5 years (and take subjects making me less suitable for private enterprise after those 5 years).
Because of these scholarships, high school teachers came largely from the smart kids of poor families in that era. Today the scholarships are pretty scarce and teacher training is mainly HECS financed - the smart kids from poor families see a much better future in becoming doctors, lawyers, engineers etc leaving teaching to the also-rans, and so teaching has also been dumbed down.
ALL IS NOT LOST
This knocking of the younger generation and decrying falling educational standards is hardly new. Greek and Roman philosophers were doing it. Shakespeare has several references. Yet the world has survived - in fact plenty would say it's heaps better these days. When asked when was the best time to be alive in my 74 years, my answer is "NOW".
I don't think the present older generations should feel at all smug. A dispassionate look at the past few hundred years suggests my generation and the ones before have largely stuffed up big time. To mention a few cluster-fucks:
- The partition of the MIDDLE EAST which has led to the current snafu.
- The partition of EUROPE which led to WW1 and WW2 and COLD WAR tensions.
- The ENVIRONMENT including GLOBAL WARMING
- The MISMANAGEMENT OF GAINS FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT which has seen the rise of far-right wing demagogues who claim to have the answer to all losers' problems.
I could go on - you can probably think of a few of your own.
Thing is, I believe the current younger generation is aware of these stuff ups and is better armed to do something about them. I'm optimistic of the future.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY - MARCH 13 2019
"The (NSW) Premier's office is overpopulated with Young Turks who have no understanding of what real people are thinking because they lack life experience."
Take that youngsters!
Take that Premier!
BULLSHIT WAS ALL THE BAND COULD PLAY (to the tune of COLONEL BOGEY)
The above quote was in the Sydney Morning Herald's CBD column, attributed to "....one Liberal MP". Yep, he's bagging his own leader - nothing new in Australian politics of late.
But even though we center-left readers love seeing disharmony in the center-right ranks, I wonder just how authentic the quote is. I mean "....one Liberal MP" is real vague.
As someone once said: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story".
Maybe THE TRUMPSTER sums it up better. FAKE NEWS!
MY TAKE - irrespective of the accuracy of the so called quoter, I think there's a certain amount of truth in the danger of surrounding yourself with all young advisers. Any politician worth his/her salt should be taking advice from both old-experienced people who have been there, done that AND younger hot shots with all the confidence and new skills of youth.
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FROM WANKER!! .... TO WHATEVER - MARCH 14 2019
Reading over this blog, I have come to the conclusion that it is a bit short on RANTING. My general approach is more middle of the road ----the WHATEVER of above. This is no doubt the result of the common mellowing of age, how the passing years develop perspective, how former hard lines on issues tend to get softened over time. But I confess that a certain forgiveness has to be worked on - I do look at some fuckwit fashions, fads and happenings and the first reaction is ....WANKERS! Then the training to accept differences cuts in and I change it to ....WHATEVER.
I mean, there is a sizable demographic gets its kick from FINE DINING or THE COFFEE CULTURE. I look at these people spending a small fortune on stuff doesn't look any better than LADY TEZZA can do at 10% the cost, and my first reaction is ....WANKERS!! But hell, if someone gets a kick out of fine food or coffee why shouldn't they be devotees (and face it - getting extra pleasure from such a basic thing as sustenance is not wasted time) any less than people who spend lots of their income on cars, sports, art or clothes? No doubt a lot of them would look at my passions for BUDGET TRAVEL and being a general CHEAPSKATE, and think....FUCKWIT!!
Jeez - to our list of overpaid fat cats (CEOs, SPORTS STARS, ENTERTAINERS IN GENERAL TRUST FUND BABIES yada, we gotta add WORKERS/SUPERVISORS IN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES)
UPDATE MAY 9 2019
I just read some late figures saying that over the past 10 years AVERAGE (use-weighted) PRICES have increased 23.4% while average ordinary time earnings are up by much more - 38%. So ordinary punters can buy many more goods and services now than 10 years back. The stats showed similar results for non-ordinary punters: the young, retired etc who have different consumption and income patterns. So once again - WE AIN'T REALLY DOING IT TOUGH.
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Labor also promises to do something about the POOR WAGES GROWTH everyone is moaning about.
LIGHTWEIGHTS TO THE LEFT OF ME
FERKWITS TO THE RIGHT
HERE I AM
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE FEELING BLUE
BIG SURPRISE!
**as the circus in the UK and tragedy in the US readily prove.
UPDATE - on reflection, when you think about it they shot BOTH the message (ending the dividend imputations refund lurk) AND the messenger.
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JULY 21 2019
Been awhile since my last post, but here's the thing: NOT TOO MUCH WORTH RANTING ABT THESE DAYS.
I put it down to getting old - as I suggest up page, AGE MELLOWS. Sure, I see stuff makes me giggle, not RANT...like the BULLY IN CHIEF....and the ongoing BREXIT train-crash. I mean there has been a lot of action in BOTH areas the past few months, but not too much progress. Like THE TRUMPSTER does not seem to be making too much progress with his WALL thing; the TRADE WAR with China could end up "some things gained, some lost' .
And the BREXIT saga continues - at this date THERESA is finished, BORIS looks likely (did I mention ENTERTAINMENT - that guy should almost be as good as the PROTECTIONIST IN CHIEF).
And right now there's still NO PLAN fer the actual exit.
The above shares my conviction that the EEC is a fundamentally floored concept - well the currency union bit is. But what do I know? - I'm just a trained economist.
UM - just remembered this is a TRAVEL BLOG.
OK - just returned from the annual trip to BALI and nearby. This time LADY TEZZA and I did our usual couple of days in KUTA on arrival, but at a new location even closer to the airport, and a sister property to our usual off the plane, spot - then went across to SANUR for a relax in 2 locations (VALUE ON THE SANUR BEACHFRONT and THE GOOD, THE BAD and the UGLY). After that we normally head up-island for some destination in the mountains or north coast we haven't seen before - but this year we figured we'd seen all the places worth seeing ++ the hassle of moving up country is big time on the horrific roads with typical BALI traffic - so we gave that a miss and headed back to KUTA. Stayed for the first time in POPPIES 2 (detaills HERE), then went across to POPPIES 1 for a few nights, then to our KUTA favourite, BAKUNG SARI RESORT AND SPA - which is close enough to the airport to ease LADY T's exit.
LADY T went home next day (she missed her grand-kids) and I headed for the SW GILIS (GILE GEDE and nearby) for 10 nights. You can read about them elsewher on this blog page HERE .
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JULY 24 2019
IT'S OFFICIAL - BORIS IS PM!
And here is the head clown.
Get prepared for some heavy duty entertainment.
HANG ON TIGHT - THIS IS GOING TO GET INTERESTING!
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SEPT 29 2019
It's been a while since my last entry - been a bit busy with a mega trip to NE US and other things.
Now I can picture some earnest types saying the current crises are way beyond a giggle - for instance the state of the environment (wasn't that 16yo a blast??) threatens to end the world as we know it. OK as I said, seen that before - the CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS threatened the end of the world as we know it back in the 60s. But we survived that. Common sense prevailed. As we will survive this present environmental crisis. This is not to denigrate the contributions of GRETA et al- .... people like that are WHY we will survive the crisis.
In the meantime I will giggle away at THE DENIAL OF WARMING, the OBFUSCATION OF VESTED INTERESTS, the OTHER EXCUSES FOR INACTION. The same as I will at the other things get people so upset - brain dead politicians/governments, lack of housing/population/transport policies....yada. Not to mention economic mismanagement and the rest. We have seen this before and yet the world muddled thru. No-ones such as me, jumping up and down achieve nothing. So why not sit back and have a larf?
MY REFLECTIONS ON THE GOOD OL' USA (Just got back from my second mainland visit)
BEACHES - Mainland-wise I'm restricted to CALIFORNIA and the NORTH EAST (ie north of CAPE MAY - south of CAPE COD). But what I've seen so far is a bunch of big long featureless beaches (apart from the piers) - BORING (LA area), short shitty rocky types with heaps of KEEP OUT signs (would you believe one said "NO WALKING ON THE BEACH") in the BIG SUR region, weed-packed ones at CARMEL, and generally dirty long unappealing types lining the SAN FRANCISCO coast. Oh yeah, the north-east - no shortage of barrier beaches stretching off towards the horizon with no discerning start of finish, backed by low grassed dunes - BORING from my point of view although people who see beaches once a year on holidays think they are the best on earth, PLUS some much more experienced beach-goers prefer the wide open spaces of this type of beach and so rate them much higher than me. Who is to say my preference is tops?
I say.
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DEC 16 2019
Been a time gap since my last entry - it's not that interesting things and rantible stuff has not happened - more a case of been real busy with other things. So maybe some updates....
TRUMPSTER UPDATE - can't keep up with this dude. Right now he's in the early stages of IMPEACHMENT which he and his supporters are either ignoring or denying big time - likewise all the other scandals and inquiries re his administration.
As far as THE WALL is concerned, he had a kind of win when he managed to convince judges that he could use DEFENSE FUNDS for its construction (dunno how this put him with defense personnel - maybe any bad feeling has been cancelled following recently announced armed forces wage increases).
The TRADE WAR is a confusing on-again, off-again thingo - he and his supporters seem to think ANY "progress" on the CHINA thing is a win - they are calling the part repeal of PHASE ONE tariffs a win, even though the impartial experts are undecided.
Things don't seem so hot on other trade fronts - he has recently threatened to spread tariffs to EUROPEAN imports after targeting some LATIN AMERICAN economies.
THE US ECONOMY UPDATE - seems that sugar hit from the tax cuts/infrastructure spending is STILL going, but sooner or later the cost is going to hit. And the impact of the TRADE WAR is going to make itself felt in employment, taxation and inflation areas.
:"Sooner or later"....maybe MUCH later - tax cuts etc can be financed by another round of QUANTITATIVE EASING (in effect the US TREASURY printing more money). Already TRUMP is trying to bully the FEDERAL RESERVE into this, along with lower interest rates and a lower US dollar.
BREXIT UPDATE - well BORIS has just won the election. All those "WE AINT GONNA LET THOSE CONTINENTALS PUSH US AROUND" losers have given him a mandate for BREXIT. So the train crash rolls on - as I said this is becoming interesting - and real entertaining. Although many Brits stand to lose jobs, businesses and income if it happens - that won't be so entertaining.
AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY UPDATE - things are still in the doldrums with low wage growth/ spending/ investment/ employment growth and GDP expansion. The "great economic managers" who thought their tax decreases would stimulate the above have been proved wrong. But they refuse to give any FISCAL STIMULUS because they still think limiting government spending to BALANCE THE BUDGE has priority right now. Not sure what all those dopes who voted for them think right now - but knowing the average Aussie, it won't be until unemployment starts to blow out, inflation spikes high, wages decrease in real terms, housing mortgage interest rates bite hard yada that they will be nudged out of their stupor. Any time soon.
ECONOMICS 101 - QUANTITATIVE EASING
The theory is neat if a bit pie in the sky - how printing money in exchange for govt bonds will increase liquidity, make borrowing money even easier and get all those dudes out there to buy a shitload more stuff. Only trouble is the the RICH have used all this cheap money to buy shares and property. So the US and other places who have tried QE have had an ASSETS BUBBLE mostly in non-productive areas, but not in places which promote real growth. Not helping TRUMPSTER'S losers but making him real popular in upper income circles. Which is maybe what counts - those dudes contribute to campaign funds, and ALWAYS VOTE.
CAR NUT
Here's a confession - been a car nut all my life - which at 74 years ain't short.
But that CAR NUT thing conflicts with being a TIGHT ARSE. And I must admit the TIGHT ARSE thingo has won in recent years.
Time was when certain basic rules that I though set in stone applied: "ANYONE WITH A BRAIN BUYS USED, WHEN A CAR IS ONE OR TWO YEARS OLD..... LET THE ORIGINAL OWNER WEAR THE DEPRECIATION". So I was a great fan of showing up at GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS and buying a one or two years old police pursuit car - a V8 or turbo Commodore with all the special stuff - heavy duty suspension, big wheels, big brakes...yada.
And my plan was when I got old to TRADE DOWN - start with something of reasonable value and every year or so replace it with a slightly older goodie - do you have any idea how all those cars used to light fires back in the day have depreciated? I could see myself in BEEMERS, MERCS, RX8s and a whole bunch of other good stuff** every year or so.
DON'T WORK LIKE THAT ANYMORE - here's the thing: back in the day most new models might show new sheet-metal and interiors but not much else. But NOW seems every update has things worth having - new safety measures, new performance measures (was a time not long ago we had to go to the aftermarket for big wheels, big power yada - now they come standard or as an option), new economy measures and often improved driving pleasure (better steering, more road isolation, better roadholding....yada).
It's NEW ECONOMY MEASURES which have caught my notice. I reckon the days of PERFORMANCE MOTORING have gone - unless you can afford TRACK DAYS (how much will that cost you - not only the ROLL CAGE, HELMET, TRACK FEES, but TIRES, BRAKES etc?). So for this enthusiast the only way to get added pleasure from motoring is to become a HYPERMILER - yeah that's right, a fuel-sipping nerd.
This started with the purchase of my current car back in 2011 - a HYUNDAI ELANTRA. I read an article about cars beating US40mpg (a US gallon is smaller than an imperial gallon) and the ELANTRA was one - and it was drop dead gorgeous and had all the latest safety meaures current at the time. So I changed my plan about buying secondhand/few year's old, and bought one new.
Time passes - now with my interest in HYPERMILING, I kinda fancy the latest TOYOTA COROLLA HYBRID which is not only super efficient but is a definite step up in features, safety and driving pleasure from the previous model and my Elantra. Big problem - my ELANTRA is almost new! It has only done 65k km over the years and looks/drives like a new car (car styling has caught up - latest generation new cars look similar but not better than mine). But if I traded the ELANTRA, I'd get next to nothing. Which does not sit well with this long time tight arse.
**My biggest dream unfortunately is out the window - I have been a US STREET MACHINE enthusiast all my life - but unfortunately all those great old Yankee cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s have APPRECIATED in OZ, not depreciated. So much so they are way out of this guy's reach: must remember as a general car nut I compare relative values over a whole range of stuff: an iffy un-modified '72 CHEVVY 2 for the same price as a NEW COROLLA HYBRID?.....NUH!!
BTW - a CHEVVY 2 is not my ideal basis for a street machine. My dream is a '57 CADDY ELDORADO, but one of those is near unobtainable in Australia and near priceless in the US.
Under the TRUMPSTER'S watch, many ordinary citizens will get to ride in a Cadillac.
YOU’RE FIRED!!
8th November 2020 - At this time counting in the long run train crash which is the US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION has progressed to the point where BIDEN has been declared the winner. Not-withstanding the moves by THE LITIGANT IN CHIEF.
Thing which surprised most was THE CLOSENESS OF THE CONTEST. But some people are asking: what is so surprising about a xenophobic ignorant buffoon attracting votes in a country of xenophobic ignorant buffoons? BUT the thing is TANTRUM TOSSER IN CHIEF managed to attract around 70 million votes and their ain’t that many xenophobic ignorant buffoons in the US.
(Cartoon from MOIR, SMH)
TRUTH IS a lot of these non-ignorant TRUMP supporters are hurting – they are losers from GLOBALISM, FREE TRADE etc and see no way to get their share such is the strangle-hold the upper class on the system- so they ignore all the bad behavior etc from the incumbent and vote for someone who promises (falsely) that he can fix the system. I think more than a few are reasonably intelligent people who realisize he can't really fix the problem but their ballot is a PROTEST VOTE (sure, some of Joe's promises could help them but they know the control of the legislature/courts by the winners from the present system is such those promises never will be instituted).
Certainly if I was lower or middle class (except for the top end) in the USA, I would be very frustrated around now.
LESSONS FROM THE TRUMPSTER ERA
1 – LOOK AFTER YOUR LOSERS
This is not possible in the US because the upper class controls the legislature, courts and other ways to redistribute the gains from GLOBALISM, FREE TRADE etc downstream. But OTHER COUNTRIES must resist the lure of right-wing populism and maintain their social-democratic distribution of pf the gains to the working class and lower/middle middle class.
2 – A LIE IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH TO YOUR FOLLOWERS.
And repeat it often enough it becomes gospel truth to you.
3 – THE SUGAR HIT FROM LOWER TAXES, HUGE GOVERNMENT DEFICITS SURE LASTS A LONG TIME. Nearly 4 years and we still haven’t seen the downside of TRUMP’S reckless boosting of the economy.
4 - A XEONOPHOBIC, IGNORANT BUFFOON MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE BEST PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL BU HE SURE WAS ENTERTAINING.
What are all the satirists, cartoonists and moderate-liberal editorial writers gonna do now?
NOVEMBER 29 2020
THE BIG RESET
Everyone, including the pet shop parrot, is squawking about how we are gonna see a RESET in just about everything because of the pandemic – employment will never be the same (half the workforce will be working from home etc), we are gonna see a whole new world of travel, personal relationships, self-sufficiency ………………...and so on. I know a lot of this has come from the dearth of relevant media infill in this time when lots of readers/viewers have plenty of spare time to peruse – meaning every futurologist, expert and ratbag with a cause has jumped at the chance to give their ideas a public outing.
I have a different theory on how things will be post pandemic – the reset in most things will be SMALL rather then BIG. Some so small that it will almost be back to normal. For instance early on the experts were telling us about the HUGE CHANGES we will see in RETIREMENT LIVING post-pandemic. Makes sense on account that retirement homes etc were baring the brunt of deaths when the pandemic was at its peak. But now in post peak Australia all interest seems to have been lost in this issue – I predict the future will see a few more of the usual ENQUIRIES into this industry, making a bunch of recommendations. Most of which will be swept under the carpet (too hard, too expensive) with only a few improvements being made at the margins.
Changes in other areas will be bigger but not earth-shaking – in effect post pandemic it will be much a case of back to business as normal.
But I admit there will be a FEW BIGGIES – a new post-Trump political era in USA (sanity replaces bullshit) But not really the big reset towards the democratic socialism America needs for a fairer distribution of the gains from neo-economics.
- anther biggie is the new wider recognition that GOVT BORROWING/NATIONAL DEBT ISN’T BAD in times of crisis. (I rabbit on about that way up-page) But I have an idea that conservative governments will only stick with this until interest rates start to inch up.
Ain't gonna happen
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CARS
LOOKS VERY FLASH, TRENDSETTER, BUT SOUNDS CHEAP
DEC 25 2020.
Seems the middle-class and higher these days is way into up-market foreign vehicles. And it being 2020, particularly into foreign SUVs, So we have all these MERC. AUDI, BEEMER, RANGE-ROVER, JAG and other expensive imported jacked-up, over-styled, overweight station wagons cruising around, not to mention a plethora of more sensible upmarket Japanese and Korean stuff like ACURAs, LEXI, INFINITIs and KIAs (more sensible because they have a less insane price, better reliability and lower servicing costs, with equal build quality).
Now the thing is at least half these vehicles are running the DIESEL engine option, notwithstanding diesels cost more to purchase, service and fuel (in Oz diesel costs more than petrol - no govt subsidy) . And sale of diesel vehicles will be illegal in 10 years time on account they spew out pollution like crazy. Sure they get better fuel economy, but how is this an issue to people who can afford to stupidly overpay on the initial purchase and can easily afford to run the top petrol option which is usually some killer turbocharged V6/8/12.
The thing gets me is their NOISE – truly the typical diesel sounds like a bag of bolts rattling around inside a wooden box at idle, and not much better on the move. UPDATE DEC '21 - my neighbourhood is turning into yuppie central with all sorts of upmarket stuff like Beeners, Mercs, Audies yada - lady up the road has a new big BMW SUV with some sort of diesel - sounds like a bucket of bolts in an OIL-fillled box. Upmarket class.
So here we have all these movers and shakers driving around in vehicles look a million bucks and sound like they are worth five cents. Cheap, baby, cheap.
All this opens up a wider discussion on exhaust notes. Back in the day, the typical 4 cylinder motor sounded low rent. There were exceptions like the glorious metallic brmm of the MGB – some ALFAS were pretty neat too. Of course 4 cylinder racing engines like the COVENTRY CLIMAX in COOPERS/LOTI and the typical supercharged 4s in INDIANAPOLIS RACERS sounded great. But the average 4? Low rent.
Now some time in the recent past the exhaust-research guys did some good work because these days the average 4 sounds pretty good – a quiet hum at the most. Takes the upmarket performance versions to spoil it – today if your sporty exhaust sounds like a typical $100 beater back in the day with all the exhaust baffles rusted out, it’s cool. I recently heard an upmarket MERCEDES with one of those turboed-out-of-its-brain AMG 4s – sounded just like my old VAUXHALL with a shot exhaust – except a touch more frantic. So here we have this high income mover and shaker cruising around in his cool $100k+ MERC A CLASS COUPE sounding decidedly uncool.
Oh yeah, this new Merc would pop and crackle on the over-run too. See back in the day carburetors and early fuel injection were not accurate enough to lean the mixture out on over-run, so all that unburnt fuel would explode in the hot tailpipe – today’s super-accurate injection avoids this EXCEPT when you press the bang-pop button and then it injects a surplus of fuel into the system. Makes a mileage-miser like me shudder.
And all that WHOOSH as the turbo waste-gate dumped surplus boost between shifts does not impress me – hell the tradie next door has that on his old 80s TOYOTA UTE. (actually I think modern non-sporty cars may avoid this with the computers dialing down boost between shifts or something – certainly I tend to hear way fewer WHOOSHES these days despite the fact that more and more vehicles have turbos).
This “rusted out exhaust noise is cool” isn’t restricted to 4s either – Car and Driver reckons today’s best exhaust noise comes from JAGUAR’s V8s in their more sporty cars – I heard one recently and it sounded like some-one had forgot to tighten the exhaust manifold to tailpipe junction – cheap baby, cheap.
Many of these cars have 2 way exhaust systems – on “normal” they sound okay because the gases are going thru a decent muffler: on “noise” the muffler system is by-passed and we have a straight-thru tailpipe. Straight thru sounds okay on track cars – on street cars it sound crap. And in many jurisdictions straight thru is illegal. Cheap baby, cheap
Back to 4s – what’s with this modern trend of 4s to have TWIN TAILPIPES? By 1950 it was well known that the most efficient setup on a 4 was via a SINGLE TAILPIPE (check out those COOPER CLIMAXES and INDY 4s for proof). Sure twin exits were more efficient on 6s, 8s and 12s, but not on a 4. But they look cool and sporty hence a whole bunch of modern 4s have twin tailpipes. Hell a lot of VWs don’t even have their tailpipes connected to the twin openings in the rear facia. Have a look someday. All this has the pacemaker on my bullshit meter maxing-out.
Okay, I’ve dumped on some crap sounding exhaust noises. What do I like? Well don’t get much better than those V8s/10s/12s in Euro supercars. Some yank and Aussie V8s are pretty good – nice when a late model CAMARO, CHYSLERv8, MUSTANG or COMMODORE with the LS2 option burbles past. And AUDI, BEEMER and MERC top-option V8s of a few series ago sounded gorgeous.
In 4s, I reckon you still can’t get much better than the MGB – I can’t think of any modern 4 lights my aural fire. Except everyday modern 4s have a quiet hum; the don't sound cheap any more.
6s? Well a lot of late model euro cars are ditching the top V8 options for turbo 6s. These are said to sound pretty cool but I really haven’t heard too many. Mind you the people saying this are the same who rate the JAG V8 top of the pile.
SCREEMIN JIMMIES
Here’s one out of left field – one of the best exhaust notes I ever heard was out of a 2 STROKE DETROIT (GM) DIESEL. Bloke up the road has one in a restored 50s-something PIONEER BUS. When he backs out onto the street and takes off up a quite steep hill, going thru gears like Lewis Hamilton at Monaco, it sounds just like a 50s/60s era V12 FERRARI. Not for nothing this engine was known as the SCREEMIN JIMMY (JIMMY FOR GMC). And GMC built a hell of a lot of them – many fire-trucks, road trucks, boats from fishing thru cruising to patrol, farm machines, military tanks and other off road vehicles used them.
THE HARLEY JOKE.
Talking crap exhaust noise, doesn’t get much crappier than the typical HARLEY DAVIDSON. I once read HARLEY was going to take out a patent on its exhaust noise. Say what? Only idiots would patent a racket sounds like a bunch of cheap fireworks in a steel drum. But wait. Consider at least 80% of HARLEYs have aftermarket exhausts. So what do we get for our extra $500 minimum? The noise is much the same - but LOUDER. Cheap baby, cheap.
So what sounds good in bikes? – well those multi-cylinder Jap sports bikes of a few series ago sounded pretty cool. Some exist today – but the typical sports bike is into European-like big twins – some say they sound great. Not me.
TRUMP UPDATE - DECEMBER 28
Right now our favourite buffoon has thrown the switch to become THE PARDONER IN CHIEF as he scrambles to ensure the future will be less toxic to him and his friends. Talking of toxic – he seems to becoming more and more toxic as the end approaches, doing his best to frustrate the will of congress and the majority of Americans. Will be interesting to see if he really boycotts JOE’s inauguration.
BREXIT UPDATE – DECEMBER 28 2020
Okay, my prediction up page that the final decision to exit the EEC will be kicked down the road WAS WRONG – Boris and his government have stuck to BREXIT.
But what was continually kicked down the road was the final deal on TRADE between Britain and the EEC – we were continually told that the deadline was imminent, only to be informed or a new deadline in the near-future.
Finally at the 11th hour the negotiators announced A NEW TRADE AGREEMENT. Not sure how this will work – it’s a bit early for details (at least here in Australia (where few really give a stuff). Both sides are claiming happiness with the contents, which usually means one or both sides were royally screwed on some of the details. And each side’s government have not yet ratified the deal.
One thing I do know is that the new agreement is vague on much of the TRADE IN SERVICES. Seeing how TRADE IN SERVICES covers 80% of all trade, it seems this new agreement is maybe lacking just a little. BREXIT TRADE AGREEMENT LITE?
One thing I’m confident in predicting – in the future certain products and services in Britain will be either unobtainable or of poorer quality, in short supply at grossly inflated prices. And the paperwork will be stupendous. But at least the Brits won’t have those pesky Europeans pushing them around with those stupid rules and regulations. Will they?
2020 IN RETROSPECT
If I had to sum up this year in one word, I would use ‘INTERESTING’ whereas a lot of people are claiming it worst in their lifetime. True, I was only affected by Australia’s devastating bush fires peripherally, was lucky enough to avoid covid contagion and rode out NSW’s pretty tame lock-down relatively easy (it helped that I had 5 separate bouts of surgery this year – the time spent in hospital and recovery + all the pre and post hospital medical appointments would in a normal year have me chafing about being locked out of my normal travel routine. But that travel was not available even for the fittest and healthiest of us. Not that I’d wish these medical procedures on anyone else – two involved long painful and uncomfortable recovery periods and two have led to long term life-changing after effects).
THE COMING YEAR
I’d use the same word “INTERESTING” for what I expect in 2021. Here in Australia, depending on whether we avoid a second wave of infection, the recovery period will be interesting as the economy rebuilds. Overseas where places are yet to reach peak-covid, the fight against the virus and the impact of the vaccines will be interesting. Let’s hope for a positive outcome both home and away, so we don’t have to predict interesting times for 2022.
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2021 ALMANAC
This being a pretty lightweight page, here are my lightweight predictions for the upcoming year.
JAN – TV-only spectators for midnight SYDNEY HARBOUR FIREWORKS show declare display “SO LAST YEAR”.
FEB – ex-president TRUMP confounds observers by claiming the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged.
MARCH – a huge leap in employment ads for Britain is recorded for SHIPPING CLERKS to handle the mountain of paperwork generated by the POST-BREXIT regulations on overseas trade of goods and services. BUMBLING BORIS declares this a “WIN-WIN!!!!”
APRIL – most of Europe is in hard lockdown following the appearance of yet another new virulent strain of COVID. The exception is SWEDEN which declares that HERD IMMUNITY is the way to go.
MAY – KO LANTA THAILAND: Manchester City fans burn down grandstand when their side is beaten in a friendly with a Ban Saladan village scratch team. A later appeal (the Thai ball boy came from neighbouring village Ban Kantiang: CHEATS!) reverses the result.
City fans burn down Saladan waterside fish restaurants in celebration.
JUNE – SWEDEN declares an emergency as hospitals run out of respirators and emergency response beds. Politicians still convinced of the efficacy of HERD IMMUNITY. Some SOCIAL MEDIA contributors not so sure.
JULY – an INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER is accused of ‘shameless promotion’ when she enters her factory provided AUDI in NASCAR’s QUAKER STATE 400 at ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY. NASCAR officials disqualify her when she qualifies mid pack for "non-compliance".
AUGUST – Britain and France reactivate 1518 TREATY OF LONDON after fighting breaks out between English and French fishing trawlers in the GRAND BANK’s shared zone. BUMBLING BORIS declares the Treaty signing a “WIN WIN!!!”
SEPTEMBER - SOCIAL MEDIA contributors self destruct in a 40000 post online brawl about how 5G is slowing daffodil growth. Some conspiracy theorist contend that covid vaccines are to blame. All further predict 5G and the vaccine will end the world as we know it.
And I thought it was the fluoride in drinking water.
OCT – ex-president TRUMP still insisting last year’s election was stolen. Forwards ‘proof’ in an affidavit sworn by Aadit Rolle, a Blossom Village titty-bar owner, that the local LITTLE CAYMAN drug cartel interfered with voting pencils in Wisconsin.
NOV – doctors prescribe BAKE BEAN TREATMENT for HARD CORE REPUBLICANS to remove anal fixation that last year’s presidential election was rigged.
DEC – the INSTITUTE FOR CURRENT AFFAIRS announced a special end of year award to BUMBLING BORIS for his great contribution to eye-darting and emphatic emphasis when speaking. The UK BARBERS’ ASSOCIATION declares him “head of the year (NOT!!)
The WHO gives a special award to SWEDISH UNDERTAKERS for ‘bravery in the face of overwhelming odds”.
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OUT WITH A BANG AND A WHIMPER - JAN 23 2021
At last, with BIDEN’S inauguration a few days ago, the slow motion train wreck of the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION and the US ELECTION has finished.
Not without the usual drama.
The DRAMA (the BANG) occurred a fortnight back with the INVASION OF CONGRESS. Egged on by THE PETULANT IN CHIEF, the mob tried to take over the scene. When they failed the old TRUMPSTER tried to save his ass by ignoring his earlier “WITH YOU ALL THE WAY”, calling their actions “heinous” etc. What a circus – unfortunately less entertaining than the usual TRUMP SHOW because 5 poor souls lost their lives.
But yeah, the outcomes reinforces that old saw of BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WITH FOR: things backfired badly for our man in that:
-TRUMP lost a lot of credibility with supporters
- some GEORGIA voters were so turned off that the REPUBLICANS lost at least one sure fire senator (and perhaps two) – thereby losing control of the SENATE.
- some republican congressmen were so incensed that they helped IMPEACH Trump. This impeachment was the SECOND TIME for OL' ORANGE (the only president that this has happened to).
So then we come to the WHIMPER bit – seemingly chastened by all this, our great leader then spent most of the time sulking in the White House and against all precedent sneaked away to this Florida digs on the morning of the inauguration.
All of this begs the question: WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF LAST FORTNIGHT’S INVASION OF CONGRESS WAS SUCCESSFUL?
But have we seen the last of the TURMPSTER? Hell no! - coming months promise a hell of a lot of legal stuff, exposes,let alone all the self-promotional bullshit he can't stay away from.
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JAN 26 - SAME OLD SAME OLD
Today is AUSTRALIA DAY which commemorates the day the FIRST FLEET stepped ashore on Australia in 1788. So of course we have to do a re-run of all the tired old arguments which appear around this time every year:
- should the date be given some minor flexibility so that it always occurs on a Monday. This would give a 3 day weekend every year which be a lot more workable for employers and employees?
- should we celebrate this day at all, seeing it is a day of mourning for all native Australians? They refer to it as INVASION DAY.
- should the date be moved to a completely different time of year so that AUSTRALIA DAY becomes a proper national day, not commemorating something which was a bad deal for a significant group of us.
- should the Australia Day HONOURS LIST be scrapped, revamped?
- isn't it about time Australia became a REPUBLIC instead of having the QUEEN OF ENGLAND as our constitutional head?
All the proponents of these ideas appearing on TV, in SOCIAL MEDIA and writing letters to or articles for the newspapers are so keen and idealistic, as though this is the first time anyone has thought of this stuff - but trust me having seen it over more than 30 previous years, it is all pretty boring. My reaction - ZZZZZZZZ.
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THE STATE OF PLAY COVID WISE IN OZ.
When I last wrote of this there was a minor outbreak on Sydney's northern beaches. This was bought under control reasonably quickly, but maybe not as easily as a lot of people thought. Since then there have been minor outbreaks elsewhere in NSW and in other states, with similar end-results. So overall we have nothing to whinge about - no deaths, no spiraling amounts of infection etc as seen so widely overseas.
Of course when there is no major crisis to moan about, people are complaining of many MINOR CRISES such as:
- FREQUENT STATE BORDER CLOSURES. These have been imposed by State Premiers under advice of their Chief Health Officers. What whingers forget is that the ability to close state borders is a major reason why the virus has not spread out of control in Australia. At the same time is has played havoc with key sections of state economies and people moving interstate for personal, leisure and business reasons. And some xenophobic state premiers (we're looking at you Anna),have used the closures to curry favour with their even more xeanophobic voters. What we need is some sort of national mechanism to regulate state border closures - PRIME MINISTER, where are you? (hiding from the tougher decisions as usual).
- NATIONAL BORDER CLOSURES. The only way to get into Australia these days is - if you are one of the many Australians stuck overseas wanting to return (and this movement is limited to a trickle of its potential, mainly because of a shortage of hotel quarantine) - a very few foreign workers desperately needed (right now we are taking a limited amount of fruit pickers), - and some foreign VIPs such as tennis stars, movie stars, the filthy rich etc, who for some reason don't have to stick to the same rules as everyone else.
Naturally all this has created a storm of protest in the media and a plethora of hard luck/unfair treatment (or favoured treatment) stories for TV and the press. My take? Entertaining - and thank God these are the worst things happening to us compared to elsewhere.
VACCINE STUFF-UP May 4
Long time between updates on account that in my old-age induced mellowness, I cant be bothered getting upset about all the minor SNAFUs occurring and have little to rant about.
About the biggest SNAFU right now is the mess the national govt. has made of the covid vaccine roll-out. In a country of only 25M people it's not expected to be finished by the end of the year. (I just read one expert claiming lucky to finish by end of 2022). Contrast the UK and the US which both have over 100M vaccinated at this stage**. IT'S Kinda ironic that the federal govt having done such a good job in STAGE ONE - REPRESSING THE VIRUS OUTBREAK (okay - the states did a lot of the heavy lifting here with lockdowns, state border closures, mass-testing, contact tracing, hotel-quarantining, hospitalization etc but Scottie's federal mob did brilliantly with fast national border closures and quick and adequate fiscal measures to cope with the economic and personal impact of the virus). But the Feds seem to have dropped the ball in STAGE TWO - NATIONAL INOCULATION
$1.9Tr FOR INITIAL RESCUE PLAN – PASSED, This was mainly to tackle COVID and the recession. Went thru Congress with 100% Democratic approval.
$2Tr FOR INFRASTRUCTURE – PROPOSED. Not sure how this will go. Surely some Democratic fiscal doves will be unsure enough to oppose - maybe cross the floor.
$2Tr FOR HEATH/EDUCATION AND FAMILY SUPPORT – PROPOSED. Ditto Congress response.
HOW WILL THIS STUPENDOUS SPENDING BE PAID FOR? Biden believes in a paradigm shift – rich have benefited disproportionately at the expense of middle America which urgently needs help – only can be done by swift sizeable govt action as above. To this end he proposes significant hikes in corporate and high income earners' taxes.
MY TAKE? I dunno if the above two measures are sufficient. Just as well interest rates are low and the world is so awash with hot money desperate for somewhere to invest that US govt bonds seem like a good deal.
CHANGE IN TONE
Irrespective of action, most folk are pretty relaxed about the change in tone. No dramas, no major officials fired or interviewed by the FBI. Daily press briefings with the truth, Short president’s speeches. Limited press releases/ twits etc. No surprises, no weirdness.
DRAINING THE SWAMP? Despite the heroic moves above I don't think Joe has the answer to the fundamental problem facing America - that the system of has been taken over by vested interests who are intent on enriching themselves and making the most of the big economic changes with GLOBALISATION, FREE TRADE AND DEREGULATION while resisting its spread to the regular mob.
As far as the bigger problem of inevitable economic progress leaving the US behind so that places like China become the new world economic leaders - well there's nothing can be done to stop this inevitable change. World leaders like BRITAIN, ROME, GREECE etc have suffered it in the past - it's just the nature of the beast. However in this POST INDUSTRIAL AGE I don't think the US will suffer the type of fall the Roman Empire did - the very nature of globalisation means a whole bunch of countries will benefit from future progress. Let's face it, over the past 100 years when the US has led, so called "second tier" countries like Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Canada yada have also progressed. And in more recent years we have seen this progress being picked up by places like Japan and India. Face it, there are enough smart people in these "second tier" countries to pick up, even improve on developments coming from whoever leads the pack - and to develop new processes themselves which can spread to the others, Only thing is most of these developments will mainly be in the non-industrial sector of the economy - specifically the services sector - and so all those unemployed factory workers in the US Rust Belt who THE FRAUDSTER IN CHIEF was gonna rescue will have to suck it up. Hopefully there will be enough new jobs in the services area to employ them - maybe not for the same hours per week - maybe we will see a change in the fundamentals of work. One thing's for sure - a lot of these new jobs will be in new geographic areas.So the future will see big social changes - let's hope without the recent social unrest.
THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BUDGET - once again we have seen the Federal Government bring down its plans for spending and revenue for the upcoming year. Last year this conservatie mob threw the budget leavers far left to KEYNESIAN measures to counteract the CORONACESSION. The big worry this year was that despite having more to do on the economic front they would revert to their usual conservative measures - cut spending like crazy which is just what is NOT needed right now. Fortunately sanity prevailed and the latest budget continued the stimulative trend of high government spending - particularly in areas where this government has been copping some stick lately - AGED CARE, WOMEN'S ISSUES, NATIONAL DISABILITY MEASURES, INFRASTRUCTURE yada. The usual critics have moaned about how it could have been better - well of course it could have been better - but kudos should go to the government for not reverting to their usual small spending style. Sure some important parts of the economy missed out and there was no timetable for the opening of the economy to the world or for the effective finishing of the vaccination phase, both of which are need to knows for any effective impact of the budget. But once again, the broad thrust of stimulation was there which many critics doubted would happen.
COVID UPDATE - JUNE 19 2021
SCOTTIE AND HIS GOVT HAVE REALLY STUFFED UP STAGE 2
Having done such a brilliant job in STAGE ONE (controlling the outbreak so it never gets out of control) the LIBERAL/NATIONAL federal govt has completely screwed up STAGE 2 - inoculation) :
-they didn't order enough vaccine
- they screwed up distribution of the vaccine (many places didn't get any despite promises and even more didn't get enough). The feds failed in many other areas which are federal responsibility like old folks homes (despite the feds promising priority, less than 20% of residents had been inoculated up til a week ago - hell, the minister in charge did not know how many residents were sick or had died. But he didn't get the sack because the LIB/NATs parliamentary majority could disappear
- they continually deny any problem exists. eg despite the progress of inoculation being hopelessly behind, they deny this and keep claiming there is no race or rush to get the majority of people jabbed. There is of course - until say 70+% of the population is fully inoculated the national border remains closed. So too will many state borders whenever a minor crisis occurs. And of course the slower the jabs roll-out, the more COVID sickness and deaths in Oz.
- they GRANDSTAND shamelessly - take public credit for any successes (many of which are down to the states) and sweep failures under the carpet or blame the states (despite it being a fed govt responsibility).
All this is down to the LIB/NAT's obsession with SMALL GOVT. Hollow out your public service so there is a shortage of skills and expertise in govt advice and action. If you have an important job to do, cut spending and allocate task to private enterprise but of course don't give them enough funding (unless the owners are govt mates) which makes them shortcut - eg don't plan or supervise properly, hire amateurs from the local unemployment exchange.
Note not all this short-cutting is a fed or Lib/Nat thing. Some LABOR states are also guilty - eg Vic allocated quarantine supervision to private security firms who got the extra workers from unskilled areas whereas NSW gave the job to the police. No prizes for working out which state has had no outbreaks from quarantine. And the NSW state govt is Lib/Nat
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AUGUST 20 2021....COVID UPDATE
It’s been some time since my last COVID report, but things have progressed a long way. In the wrong way. Right now we are in a state-wide LOCKDOWN on account BETA covid is out of control.
Ii’s kinda interesting watching the battle between the OPEN IT UP fans and the LOCK DOWN OR PERISH wonks. At present the NSW govt (actually ALL the state governments)- who is/are calling the shots - is/are in the latter category (although NSW premier Glads^^ who is a true blue Liberal is busting to get business going again).
I personally fit the LOCK DOWN** category too…..my reasoning is you can’t OPEN IT UP until all people who want inoculation can get it, which will be a problem for some time thanks to P.M. SCOTTIE’S ORDERING AND DISTRIBUTION BUNGLING. Until then we will have to persevere with lockdown – what is worse: businesses going broke or a significant number of people dying?
But once we reach the stage of full vax for all who want it, OPEN IT UP ....and if the anti-vaxxers (we can accommodate those who have legitimate reasons for rejection) still have their heads in the sand.....tough.
**I can see both sides of the argument - the OPEN IT UP merchants say increasing suicides due to business failings, unemployment and isolation must also be taken into account. Even if not suicidal, plenty more lives have been ruined. Thus my support for OPEN IT UP once everyone who wants a shot has got it.
^^Poor old Glads has been copping a lot of stick here for being slow in instituting a FULL lockdown and for initially being too lenient on rule-breakers. But she has been trying to walk the fine line between harsh restricitions and keeping folk happy++. Unfortunately BETA has been too strong.
++It's not only business people who are unhappy with LOCK DOWN. Measures have been particularly harsh on the poor - the have-nots who mainly live in western and south-west Sydney. They are disproportionately impacted by stay at home orders, unemployment, failure to understand the myriad and ever-changing rules and regulations and increasingly strict enforcement of same. The people least affected either live in the rich suburbs and/or are retired dudes like me - no job to lose, income gone up instead of down (due to some govt payments we don't deserve but are automatic, due to Johny Howard's vote buying spree in the past), only affected slightly by lockdown (so I can't go on a cruise and right now even to the nearest big hardware store for a project I have in mind - BOO HOO, life is tough).
JOE AND THE AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL - AUGUST 20
Seems Biden's honeymoon is over. Right now he's copping heaps about the mismanagement and chaos of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Predictably the DENIALIST IN CHEIF has taken advantage and jumped in with all sorts of condemnation - but the thing is, if we judge it by TRUMP'S handling of recent emergencies like COVID; fact is he could not have done better.
Biden says in his defence that nobody could predict the speed of the collapse of Afghan govt and armed forces - and why should the US continue to waste lives when the locals are not prepared to put in an effort?
At the same time the criticism that the US administration and military have not exactly handled this emergency with any sort of aplomb is very valid. And both have form in the past. After all SNAFU is a govt/military term which appeared way back in WW2.
JOE can't afford too much of this sort of shit - gotta lift his game.
WORTH RANTING ABOUT IN THE PAST – BUT RIGHT NOW I WOULDN’T GIVE A STUFF.
As I get older things which would have upset me big time back then no longer impact. I’ve lived long enough to realise that no matter the dumb/stupid public decisions made, life goes on/the sun still rises next morning. Things are still pretty good fer us in Oz even though they could be better. Maybe not so good fer other folks (I’m thinking of many – eg of all those near sea level people who are losers from the “kick the can down the road” result of the GLASGOW CLIMATE SUMMIT - many people can’t afford the time it takes fer the can to come down the road. They need action NOW). Plus my heart goes out fer all those refugees trying to get out of AFGHANISTAN/IRAN/IRAQ/SYRIA and so many other places, including those stuck on the border of POLAND/BELARUS.
But the thing is, there are always losers, and if we worried about all then life would be indeed be depressing. And at 76 I ain’t gonna be depressed. Well not too much.
A list of RantIble Subjects:
- COP 26 – there are plenty calling this a success, but from what I can see the can has been kicked on. 30% by 2030 – 50% by 2050? There are countries can’t even bind themselves to this and/or insisting on special clauses protecting their key industries which will make these targets problematic. As 18yo GRETA THUNBERG (with whom most red blooded males have improper thoughs– but I’m too old fer that /wouldn’t [literally] give a stuff) – says: “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.”
My take – climate change is real. But it will take time for some big players to realise this. If big players can do nothing right now, what can I?
Thankfully eventual action will be forced on the recalcitrants and won’t be too late. Except sadly for some very close to sea-level folk. It’s gonna work out eventually for most. Right now there’s nothing I can do so what; the use of worrying?
COVID – right now things are kinda quiet in Oz. The Omicron variant is starting to make its presence felt, but my belief from reading is that it won’t he a big deal.
Locally most states have reduced need for masks and de-tightened rules on social distancing etc. But some are still hesitant to open borders to other states and to embrace an open national border to overseas. In this respect we are way behind the northern hemisphere. This Omicron thing has not helped.
Overseas things seem not so good with infections spreading in the northern hemisphere – no surprise given the proximity of winter. Seems this bug loves winter. I just wonder what sort of an uptick we will have in Oz next winter - our sense of achievement might not be warranted.
My personal feeling on covid? Um, I think the world has faced similar crises in the past and survived despite much lower levels of medical knowledge. I got little time for the anti-vaxxers, but I reckon natural selection will sort out that problem. So I’m personally not worried (but once again I’m empathetic to those people in areas haven’t got access to sufficient vaccines.)
AUSTRALIAN POLITICS – right now Prime Minister Morrison seems to be scrambling for his political life. His inaction in the bushfires, floods and covid crisis has caught up to him – he has become known as a DO-NOTHING leader of a DO-NOTHING government. Actions (or maybe inactions) have proved him a liar, a hypocrite, a bully -particularly in relation to women, and a seeker of credit for the hard work done by others (notably the state premiers). Unfortunately the opposition lacks lustre – the leader Anthony Albanese is apparently a good guy with a lot of political nouse, but lacks charisma and doesn’t cut through to voters. His government, scarred by the scare campaigns of Morrison’s lot last election (those dudes do nothing, but led by an ad. Industry veteran, they sure know how to run a good scare campaign) has ditched their more radical proposals and refuses to release others until the last moment. There are a couple of capable/popular people in the party (both women, which would be great if one could become PM) but they are either in the wrong house (the Senate, which can’t supply a PM) or have no wish to become PM.
So we bumble on. The next election is sometime in the first half of next year – my prediction is tha Morrison will release some vote-winning tax cuts/cash handouts + come up with a top scare campaign and will scrape back in.
Personally I wouldn’t give a stuff. If people are silly enough to forget the past and react to stupid come–ons and propaganda bullshit, they deserve the government they get. I have seen many anti TEZZA govts elected in the past – life still goes on, the sun still comes up next morning, Oz still stays a great place to be.
DIGITAL MONEY
Answer to the question no one’s asking?
To paraphrase my hero PAUL KEATING, everyone including the pet shop parrot is talking about digital money. The crazy roller-coaster in the value of BITCOIN and similar plus the huge speculative profits being made by those lucky enough to…...um….. be lucky, have seen CRYPTOCURRENCIES achieve cult status of late.
PS – I have a good tulip farm for sale if anyone is interested.
But DIGITAL MONEY is about much more than CRYPTOCURRENCIES (which will never become a mainstream form of money because they lack stability and are not easy to exchange).
We also have:
*STABLE COINS – before long the online behemoths will have issued their own versions of digital money linked to sovereign currencies and therefore way more stable and less speculative than CRYPTOCURRENCIES. Eg Facebook will have DIEM. And pretty soon the scene is going to be awash with competing versions, most offering payment discounts if you use them. At present APPLE PAY and GOOGLE PAY are linked to credit cards and doing huge business but it won’t be long before they have their own versions of DIEM.
*CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES (CBDCs) – this is the official monetary system’s version of STABLE COINS. It’s their attempt to keep some regulation in this new system of payments (and I guess an example of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em). I dunno if any central bank has issued any CBDCs yet, but several are under development and close to release.
What are the benefits?
Well as far as CRYPTOCURRENCIES are concerned, if you are not a speculator or use it as a hedge agin inflation, there are few. Boosters point out that several traders are now accepting BITCOIN as a means of payment. Seems to me just another way these traders can partake in a bit of speculation without having to physically buy BITCOIN.
With STABLE COINS there will be payment discounts for users but this will be paid for by the rest of us as higher prices. Net gain zero. The main winners will be FACEBOOK, APPLE, GOOGLE and other issuers of STABLE COINS who will gleefully clip the ticket on each purchase as usual.
With CBDCs the main gain will be that central banks will be able to have some control which I guess is good for all of us – certainly it will be easier to keep tabs on MONEY LAUNDERING which will be horrifically easy with some of the other types.
Other benefits?
Certainly the BLOCKCHAIN techonology which was developed along with CRYPTOCURRENCIES has applications elsewhere – perhaps this will be the biggest legacy.
The experts tell us that digital payments will be more efficient for some WHOLESALE transactions, particularly international in character. Whether this is passed on to consumers depends on competition in that market – well, we know how that works in the real world. Consumers will gain far less in RETAIL transactions.
Nevertheless the new system will go ahead because the issuers will make a motza from it and consumers, even though there is not much in it for them on the retail side, will enthusiastically adopt it because there is a huge cohort of technological early adopters who grab anything the online behemoths offer.
Seems to me the existing payments system does a pretty good job for consumers. Maybe it should be a case of: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Me personally? Well as I've said earlier: I don't give a damn - hell, I don't even own a smartphone!
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FEB 29 2022
PRICE CREEP
There’s a whole lot of causes, but what we have experienced late 2021-early 2022 is a whole bunch of price increases way ahead of rises in the average wage or the general inflation rate:
CARS (or should I say vehicles on account so many sales these days are utes and SUVs.)
I put this down to the ridiculous price people are paying for the latter these days largely because they are getting more metal, they feel safer (debatable) and it’s trendy (these things are the latest in cool).
Check Fred out in the latest ISUZU truck with the offroad package (bigger, bead-lock wheels, 35”off-road tyres with RAISED WHITE LETTERS (white letters have been scientifically proved to improve all-terrain performance), skid-plates and the must-have snorkel). Fred will be able to negotiate the K-MART parking lot no troubles.
Other causes are the impact of recent events like the pandemic cutting spending elsewhere, low interest rates and the INCOME EFFECT of rising house prices.
Thing is, if people are conditioned into overpaying for these bigger vehicles then sellers try it on for normal cars. And so the latter are creeping up in price too.
WATCHES.
High end watches are suddenly cool again. I reckon it's because of the surplus cash people have which has boosted demand for luxury symbols in general. Plus retailers know people are flush and are determined to get their share (and more).
For a long time you could get a good basic battery powered ticker-tocker for a song – now be prepared to pay over the top for brands in vogue 25 years ao.
JOGGERS – 5 years ago a decent set of joggers cost minimum $200. then things got sensible and you could get a good pair for $100 or less, 2022 sees them up at $200 again – often more. I think this is due to the same factors which have caused watch prices to head north.
SPEAKERS speaker design has come a long way since the bad old days of my youth. Then, to get a decent sound you needed giant speakers and a variety which included a woofer. Recently I have been astounded by the sound coming from small speakers – the elcheapo tinies came with my computer sound as good as my giant 70s-era boxes, and phone-speakers are even smaller but most sound okay. But I’ve noticed recently a flood of sound bars onto the market around the $300+ mark. No doubt they produce excellent sound, but at a price multiple of x3+ on recent years?
INSERT YER OWN INFLATION VICTIM. Above I’ve simply listed a few things which have hit me in the eye price increase wise, But fact is, a whole bunch of things have been increasing in price in recent times, out of all proportion to the average inflation rate and increases in average wages.
HOUSING – ANOTHER DISPROPORTIONATE PRICE INCREASE CATEGORY AND A CAUSE OF PROBLEMS ELSEWHERE.
Australian real estate is out of control, having trebled in price over the past few years. Some realty dude recently rang me and said he could get minimum $aud3 million fer my joint (that’s around $us 2.2m and we aint talking a big city location – I live in a coastal town 120km from the big smoke). THE LADY and I paid $13.3K for our land and $35K to have the house built in the mid-late 70s.
Yesterday’s paper had the Sydney median house price at $aud1.6m end of 2021 – that’s about $us1.2m . Thing is $aud1m is needed to buy a pretty ordinary house in a very ordinary suburb. A desirable suburb like Bondi? More than double and yer still looking at a pretty ordinary house. Unit (apartment) prices have also soared – at present the median is almost $900k which means a good newish one in a desirable suburb is way over the million mark.
At the same time even country town prices have been rising – due to tree-changers/sea changers and the factors mentioned below.
Lots of causes but the overall long term problem is EXCESSIVE DEMAND (there’s not much can be done about INSUFFICIENT SUPPLY – the bottlenecks in the system are just insurmountable – anything done to cut red tape/release new land/build affordable housing is just tinkering at the edges so huge is the problem).
This excessive LONG TERM demand is down to 2 vote buying government initiatives maintained by the present conservative govt which is world-class at vote buying.
1 – NEGATIVE GEARING – this allows property investors to deduct interest and other rental costs above the rate of income return of the property from their taxable income. As a result half the tax paying public has a negatively geared house (or three). Which kinda boosted the demand for same.
2 – DISCOUNTED CAPITAL GAINS TAX. In most countries if you sell an asset for a profit, the capital gain is taxed at your full marginal tax rate. Happens in Oz too, except the CAPITAL GAIN is HALVED. This doesn’t hurt the demand for housing assets either.
SHORT TERM CAUSES OF PRICE INCREASES.
Right now we are in a perfect storm of price-increasing factors both long term (as above) and short term. THE PANDEMIC has left many with RECORD SAVINGS because they had fewer opportunitiesto spendon expensive things like holidays, flash clothing, dining out, top-end household goods yada. RECORD LOW INTEREST RATES and SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS have contributed.
GOVT RESPONSE – there is much cynical wringing of political hands about how housing is now too expensive for our kids (true – unless they can borrow from their oldies (the Bank of Mum and Dad), which many do – including my son. Plus the govt has introduced some dumb-arsed vote buying measures like a FIRST HOME BUYERS GRANT and a LOW DEPOSIT INSURANCE GRANT which look attractive but have actually boosted demand further and made the problem worse.
THE PUBLIC RESPONSE
Of course the general public loves this – anything that boosts real estate prices makes them feel much richer and they go buy a whole bunch of stuff which has increased the rate of inflation for all the above and more.
It’s kinda funny – the newspapers rabbit on about house unaffordability and letters to the editor shed crocodile tears about how our kids have been driven out of the market, yet in the same issue are almost joyous articles about the latest increase in house value.
THE GOVT AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOESN’T WANT CHANGE.
For every prospective home buyer there are 3 or 4 home owners feeling a whole lot richer. These owners will enthusiastically support dumb ideas like the first home buyers subsidy and ruthlessly veto any proposals to end or modify negative gearing and half price capital gains tax, as the LABOR OPPOSITION found out in the last election. The COALITION GOVT knows this and has no real incentive to curb housing price increases.
WHEN WILL CRAZY PRICE INCREASES END?
Experts have been falsely picking the top of the realty market for several years. I predict prices will slow or even decrease somewhat when the present LOW INTEREST RATES start to increase, probably sometime in the next year or so. However maybe it won’t be the bloodbath many are predicting, because WAGES must begin to rise at a decent rate sometime soon.
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THE BIG PIVOT IN SE ASIAN TOURISM – NOT!
15 March '22
All the travel journal1sts, bloggers, newsletters yada are carrying on about how different travel in SE Asia will be post pandemic. The main change they keep banging on about is how things will move upmarket – the cheap-charlies will be cleared out, dodgy practices will disappear and all will adapt environmentally pristine practices.
Got one word for this – BULLDUST!
Got two words as proof – PHI PHI:
- after the tsunami the experts were saying how things would be different and way better. But in half a dozen subsequent visits I saw little change – people just seemed to rebuild the place much as it was. Cheap accommodation predominated.
OK, there were more upmarket places, but this is the inevitable result of the growth of Thai tourism and has happened in all SE Asian areas. The dodgy practices continued – particularly building in national parks and similar areas.As they say; money rules – forget your fine ideals and wishes.
Environment-wise there WILL be improvements but I’d say this will be more of a CONTINUANCE than a PIVOT – something which started before the pandemic and will continue into the future. Maybe the pandemic has given this issue time to gather strength, but certainly we are not talking a PIVOT.
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THE STATE OF THE PANDEMIC IN OZ.
15 March ‘22
What we have is a hilarious situation where the hopeless Federal (national) Govt has stuffed up big time and is trying to shift the blame onto the states. State wise, NSW new premier PERROTTET, although not of my political leaning (I tend to lean left/liberal with a small l - PERROTTET is right/Liberal with a big L which in Australia means conservative;go figure) is doing a pretty good job – he’s opened the state up by relaxing pandemic restrictions – but this is an area where he is copping lotsa flak: he's damned if he does (should see the letters in my newspaper, the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD-it’s a left leaning rag with a predominantly older readership: most letters harangue PERROTTET for not being cautious) , damned if he doesn’t (if he didn’t ease the lock-down there would be as many letters in opposition moaning about loss of freedom yada.. Certainly before he relaxed restrictions there were plenty of people complaining about lock-down fatigue). I also like the way he is always upbeat and straight in his public appearsnces - unlike Federal Prime Minister Morrison who is smarmy and insincere – full of PR but not policy. And PEROTTET doesn't take any rubbish from the Feds despite them being the same political party.
Overall things are pretty good in Oz, with 90%+ having 2 injections. Things have been a bit slow with boosters (50..something..%) and kids’ injections. All states have relaxed lock-downs: seems we are treating COVID as endemic and trying to live with it.
On the horizon are warnings of a new COVID variety with a scary boost in infections. Naturally the health officials are calling for a new lock-down and the conservative oldies who write into my rag are all for it and against the government’s open policy.
Yeah well - should we be still masked up and working from home 20 years into the future?
I wrote a letter to the HERALD about this. Naturally it won’t be printed (I”ve had 2 out of 15 letters published these past 20 years) but what the heck, you (if I have any readers) don’t have a choice* - here it is:
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If Power Trippers Ran the World.
If the police ran the government we would be snowed under with regulations and enforcement. We’d have a permanent police state.
If the military ran government we’d have permanent martial law.
If health officials ran government we would be in permanent lock-down.
Isn’t it great these hard heads only advise our elected representatives whom we can vote out if we think chose wrong'
*of course you have a choice; you don't have to read any of this
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REFLECTIONS ON THE PIVOT - APRIL 1 2022.
I've been thinking about what I wrote a little up page - thinking in relation to Thailand.....and how people who revisit after last coming say 10 years back will notice some definite changes - like how beach-fronts have been cleared of cheap bars, restaurants yada, how several marine national parks like the SIMILANS etc are closed or have just been re-opened, how THE BEACH/MAYA BAY is way better these days with fewer people, all boat landings the other side of the island yada ----- I put this down to THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT cracking the whip, not to any post-pandemic RESET/PIVOT. Cynics might say I'm wrong - and point out the military government is pro-business and loath to do anything which will offend their buddies - but the reality is the government is pro BIG business and all those beachfront joints and many of the tour providers were SMALL time operators.
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COVID UPDATE – APRIL 22
NSW and AUSTRALIA seem to have reached the stage of COEXISTING WITH COVID. Authorities have accepted that the human and economic costs of ruthlessly suppressing the bug are too high (something CHINA has yet to accept) and have relaxed or will soon relax most rules regarding secondary isolation, crowd size limitations and separation, masks etc. Seems like we will treat COVID just like the ‘flu’ bug – can’t wipe it out but can take sensible measures like inoculation yada, It is accepted that the relaxing of COVID rules will see an uptick in cases, but not to unmanageable levels
POLITICAL UPDATE – APRIL 24
NATIONAL – we are into the second week of the Federal election campaign. PM Morrison is campaigning hard but his performance over the past 2 years has been so wanting that it will be a fantastic feat if his conservative LNP coalition can win. The coalition is campaigning hard on its “perceived” strengths of economics and national security, whereas the Labor opposition has adopted a small target policy of “me too”, agreeing with many of the coalition’s populist-vote winning policies, not proposing any of the necessary but vote-losing policies like tax reform and abolition of negative gearing. They have also promised to reform aged care and review the national disability scheme and health staffing in general, but seeing welfare is a perceived strength of Labor, they are on relatively safe ground there. What they have NOT done is highlight the shortcoming of the coaltion in recent years in relation to THE FLOODS, FIRES, VACCINE PROCUREMENT/DISTRIBUTION etc. This must come closer to election day because Scotty and his gang have been abysmal in these areas.
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| Did I mention PM Scotty often goes missing in times of crisis? |
STATE - The state election is not imminent, being March 2023. At present the coalition state government is not travelling too well, being guilty of much the same stuff as their federal counterparts – governing for the top end of town, pork-barrelling, jobs for the boys, fiscal profligacy and more. COVID performance is mixed – they handled the first stage of combating the virus pretty well but maybe opened up the economy a little early and by too much. But the leader, Dominic Perrottet, is the opposite of Scotty – looks young and dapper at 39 (Scotty in contrast looks a daggy middle-aged wannabe), he is upfront, doesn’t obfuscate or try to shift the blame or go missing in a crisis. He also has a good image – young, gorgeous wife, 7 gorgeous kids. But I reckon he will have trouble winning. Time will tell.
OVERSEAS. Ukraine is a mess. At present the Russians seem to be gaining the upper hand in southern and eastern Ukraine but the cost has been horrific and the loss of face of both the Russian military and Putin must be huge.
All power to the Ukraine president, people and military, but one thing I don’t get – the US was prepared to start WW3 back in the 60’s over the Cuban missile crisis, but wasn’t prepared to negotiate with Russia over the looming eastward extension of NATO to Russia’s borders, something they promised not to do back when the Soviet Union imploded. This war could have been short-circuited a month ago when loss of life and property was much much lower.
MAY 31
Well the federal election was a little over a week ago and still we are not sure whether the winner has enough seats to form a majority which can govern in its own right. One thing we are sure of is that the public repudiated the Morrison conservative government of the past 4 years (the LIBERALNATIONAL COALITION) and that LABOR won enough seats to form some sort of government, either in its own right or in coalition with others.
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Those others will come from the new group of independent TEALS (an outfit protesting the former conservative government’s record on the environment, corruption, aborigines and women) and who managed to win half a dozen seats mainly at the expense of Morrison’s outfit although Labor also lost some support to them.
The Greens also may feature if Labor needs a coalition. They did well in the election picking up protest votes from both major parties.
Besides tho old government (the LIBERAL PARTY/NATIONAL PARTY COALITION), doing poorly also were arch right wing minor parties like Pauline Hanson’s ONE NATION and billionaire Clive Palmer’s UNITED AUSTRALIA. Seems Australia has had enough of the hard right.
I read an interesting article about his demise meaning the end of the tricky LIBERAL/NATIONAL approach to governing which started with John Howard’s lies, dog whistling, pork-barreling for votes etc. I mention up page my disdain for the Howard years, so totally agree.
Anyway, we have a new government. All the dreamers are talking about a RESET. I don’t think so, on account LABOR’s "me too"-small target approach in the election means they have agreed to implement many of Morrison’s promises – it’s gonna be a long time before they can throw off the shackles of the huge govt.deficit/borrowing, promised future tax cuts (!!) and other expensive promises the electorate expects to be honoured.
UPDATE SEP 22 2022
Labour has enough to govern in its own right at present. The current debate is whether to implement the LIBERAL'S promised tax cuts to the wealthy (a "me too" pledge). MY TAKE IS WE CAN'T AFFORD IT IN THIS NEW ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT . As Keynes said "when the facts change, I change my mind".
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After a 2 year COVID hiatus I at last got the chance of travelling again. The big difference is that it has all been domestic – overseas can wait until they and we think they are safe bets.
JUNE – CRUISE:”PACIFIC EXPLORER” 4 night to Tangalooma on Moreton Island off Brisbane.
Had the usual benefits of ship life. Got off at the island – the resort is nice and abt 10-12mins north (the walk up the beach was ok but on reflection this walk would be difficult at high tide because high water mark touched the base of the very steep dunes in places) are some small-ship wrecks which are close to shore (100-150m), not deep and easily snorkeled. I had my mask (no snorkel or fins) and went out for a look. Disappointing – the water was very cold, not very clear and after snooping around for 10mins or so I turned back to shore. But I have lost a lot of condition since I had both knees replaced and hit the sand exhausted. At least I had no problem with currents which apparently can get tricky at certain tide levels.
We have traveled the PACIFIC EXPLORER before – details up page. Nice small/midsize ship and P&O do a good job. Small number of nights ideal for getting back into the routine.
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JULY – CRUISE: “CORAL PRINCESS” 7 nights to Eden, Newcastle and Tangalooma.
So soon? Thing is we have been so starved of cruising that we jumped on any genuine bargain, and it seemed a few were around post COVID to revive interest in the genre.
Lady Tezza is world class at finding bargain-basement cruises plus I’m a sucker for a guided cruise. And Lady Tezza is world class in guiding the way from cabin to buffet and bar.
Had the usual idyllic ship-board life plus Eden is a sweet little town, a beaut place to get off the ship and walk up-town. Ditto Newcastle – the shuttle bus into town terminated at the extensive riverside redevelopment around the Stockton ferry terminal from where it is a pleasant 15 min stroll across to Nobby’s Beach.
Didn’t get off at Tangalooma – been there, done that.
EARLY NOVEMBER 2022 – Majestic Princess to NZ (Fjordland – Dunedin – Christchurch – Wellington -Auckland – Bay of Islands)
"BULLSHIT WAS ALL THE BAND COULD PLAY" (to the tune of "Colonel Fogey")
This trip was notable because we caught Covid. Well perhaps more notable because Princess's performance in relation to its Covid response was abysmal and couldn’t match its PR.
For a start the line’s efforts in promoting hygiene, mask-wearing, social distancing etc on board and on official excursions before the situation got out of hand was pretty ordinary, But this was far overshadowed by its pathetic response once Covid hit. True, Princess had cabins set up on deck 9 to isolate the infected. This plan worked a charm as their PR bumff claimed and for which they claimed multi brownies in the media.
Trouble was these measures only took care of the first 10% affected, maybe 100 out of 800 - Princess severely underestimated the extent of infection and was caught pathetically short.
The rest of us were banished to our cabins and told to isolate there. No meds given apart from a bag of RAT tests. I think the line realises that Australians will not pay ridiculous American pices for meds and realising my infection was not serious and did not require anti-viral meds, didn't waste time offering them. Luckily Lady T tested positive a day later than me which allowed her to shop a packet of cold and flu tabs in Auckland.
‘Isolate’ is the key word, because after that no-one seemed interested in us – we saw about 1 crew member each day (I suspect there was a similar outbreak among the crew at the same time, and Princess decided to limit crew exposure to us in order to leave enough crew for the following trip) no-one would answer 'phone calls to room service or guest services and no-one gave updates over the p.a. - I thought the latter was broken until on the last day it gave a burst of disembarkation info – wrong in its timing of course – we actually left the ship 4 hours later than the info suggested.
The main reason we were fed was because Lady T had pre-cruise uploaded the cruise ap which allowed us to order from room service – but every meal was delivered at least 2 hours after ordering (our record was 5 hours late), This ap was a blessing because it allowed LADY T to communicate and swap war stories with other isolationers who were having a similar or worse time than us. It also allowed the lucky few who had got the special deck 9 cabins and treatment to lord it over us and the usual Princess apologists free reign (“Exaggeration - you got the 'flu….” - “Dunno whats wrong with you ….”)
Finally we left the ship at abt. 1430, walked 500m to Circular Quay station, caught a train to Sutherland where Ladette Tezza was waiting to drive us the final hour to our south coast home.
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BLOG DRIFT.
Seems this blog has turned into a TRIP REPORT rather than a RANT at current happenings. No more - back to ranting.
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THE ENERGY CRISIS. 17 Dec2022
The big energy suppliers' response to the govt's planned scheme to ease gas and electricity prices to households and industry is worth a rant. The situation is pretty complicated - but basically Australian energy prices are set by international prices which are eye-wateringly high right now because of the Ukraine war**. Add this to current high food and other prices caused by the floods, fires, supply chain problems and The War (again!! - that Putin is a trouble maker) and the govt realised something had to be done.
**note not everyone is paying top prices right now, but as customer contracts are renewed, Australians will be faced with progressively more exxy energy over the next year. Seeing bucks-down consumers are already having problems paying their energy bills and big gas-using industries are facing labour-shedding or even closure, things looked dire.
So the federal govt. has proposed a cap on gas prices and promised price subsidies to low income earners + some senior consumers + small industry firms.
Coal has not been ignored - states are negotiating with coal and electricity producers to limit price rises. There is talk of subsidies to producers to make up for lower prices.
The big international gas producers predictably are catatonic, rattling on abt soviet style price control and threatening to produce for export only. The govt. counters with a threat of withdrawing export licences. The greater public points out that the gas is ours anyway - the producers simply extract it and make a decent profit selling it even when prices are below the proposed cap. Sure, setting up mines, treatment plants and export terminals yada costs billions but the profit is still there and there are plenty of other resource firms willing to step into say Santos' shoes if the latter abandons the industry.
My take is supportive of the govt BUT......someone has to pay the proposed price subsidies to customers and the setup right now is that the taxpayer will. The taxpayer pays a subsidy on gas they actually own?
A fairer system would be a super profits tax on the energy industry in times of high international prices - with the price subsidy being paid out of this tax. But the govt. is gun-shy abt anything looks like a super profits tax having lost an election on it back in Kevin Rudd's time. So no super profits tax even though the public and much of industry is onside this time.
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